Irvine : Lawsuit Alleges Council Illegally Seated Cosgrove

Alleging that Cameron Cosgrove obtained his seat on the Irvine City Council illegally, two residents have filled suit seeking to unseat the councilman and to have a special election held in November.

Howard Klein and Cristina Bustos-Thomas, the plaintiffs, allege that Cosgrove violated a city measure when he was sworn in 9 months ago. They are supported by Irvine Pride, a community action group.

In June, Irvine voters approved Measure D, which stated that if a council member is elected mayor, the top unseated vote-getter for the council will succeed to the vacant seat. The measure, however, also stated that if a petition is filed by July 15 with the signatures of 7% of the voters, the city must hold a special election to fill that seat.

Petitions were filed within the deadline and before Cosgrove was sworn in, but the City Council said Measure D was not yet in effect.

Whether Measure D pertained to the June, 1988, election or just to subsequent elections is the main question in the case, Klein said.

Another question, according to Cosgrove, is whether the petitions were legal, because signatures were gathered before Measure D was certified by California’s secretary of state.

If the suit is decided in favor of Klein and Bustos-Thomas within the next few months, a special election will be held in November.

Cosgrove said that if the suit succeeds, he will run in that election. He said he already plans to run for reelection in June, 1990.